CASHTRASH

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CASHTRASH

The video above is a short trailer for the documentary I produced titled Ding Dung Ditch and an introduction to the problem that CashTrash is trying to solve. CashTrash leverages mobile technology to increase the transparency, value and efficiency of the waste management system. Currently, the value chain of each recyclable is too long to be profitable. We aim to eliminate the middlemen and empower trash scavengers to sell recyclables straight to their buyers.

WASTE PROBLEM & SOLUTION

WASTE PROBLEM & SOLUTION

THE PROBLEM

Trash-pickers are the heroes of Indonesia's waste management system, but the chain is too long and too hierarchical for them to benefit from the system

Recycling is not profitable because average recyclable would have to go through 6 middlemen before it reaches the factory

70,000+ tons of waste are generated everyday by residents of the Greater Jakarta Area, all of which end up in Bantar Gebang (the landfill on the picture above)

89% of the waste are not recycled or composted - this is an untapped potential!

One landfill for 20 million residents is not enough for the growing consumption, and a solution to intersect the waste before it reaches the landfill is necessary

There is no integration in the waste management system, and governments, corporations and non-profits are not collaborating on creating solutions

Current system

Current system

THE CURRENT SYSTEM

This is the simplified system of where waste produced by the Greater Jakarta Area goes to. In every stage, there are trash scavengers (informal) as well as government employees (formal) that empties the trash, sorts them, and at the end of the day, send them to the landfill. From the trash scavengers to the factory, there are approximately six middlemen (waste traders, big waste traders, even bigger waste traders, etc) and trash scavengers lack the direct connection, making the system inefficient

In-SITE DUMPING

From the households or corporations, the waste would be thrown to an in-site dumping area (a communal trash bin) and from then the bin man would pick them up daily. Trash scavengers would sort the waste out from these households and sell them to their boss (one of the middlemen).

INTERMEDIARY TREATMENT FACILITY

The remaining trash would be taken from the in-site dump to an intermediary treatment facility, where more trash scavengers would find valuables to sell to their boss. Here, the trash are being packed to the truck so they can be sent to the landfill

LANDFILL

The landfill is the final destination for the waste. Bantar Gebang is the landfill for 20+ million residents of the Greater Jakarta Area and home the "office" for over 10,000 trash scavengers, who collect the trash fresh from the truck. All the recyclables that they collect will be sold to their boss, and the rest remain in the landfill.

CashTrash

CashTrash

OUR SOLUTION

We recognize that the waste management problem is not at all an easy one to solve, and we believe it takes a collaboration between the government, corporations, NGOs and the public. CashTrash offers a first-step solution to the waste management problem, in hopes of a more impactful change in the near future.

CashTrash leverages mobile technology to help economically empower trash pickers and make the recycling business more profitable. By the time recyclables reach the factory, they are twenty times the original price collected by trash pickers. We aim to shorten the value chain by giving trash pickers direct access to the buyers.

MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

First and foremost, trash scavengers have mobile phones (even though they don't have toilets - but that's another issue!) We plan to directly connect them to the recycling factories through mobile application and making the buying/selling process more transparent.

EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS

We will arrange the transportation and logistics - pick-up time will be arranged in the mobile app, and it will be delivered straight to the recycling center.

PARTNERSHIP WITH RECYCLING COMPANIES

Recycling companies would be connected straight to the trash scavengers, without going through the middlemen. A fee will be charged to the factories, but all profits will go towards improving the communities of trash scavengers.